Current Housing Policies For Homeless Youth

“One diverse population that has continued to increase over the quarter of a century is composed of people who are homeless” (Baggerly & Zalaquett, 2006, p.155). Homelessness has become a growing problem in society because more and more people are finding themselves to be homeless and not knowing where to turn. Many people do not

Eleanor J. Bader article “Homeless on Campus” describes the lives of homeless people that are trying to get a degree. She shows the reader examples of homeless students going through hard times. The reader can see the desire to succeed from the homeless students. They work harder that every other student because they have to find a place to sleep. They also have to take care of others in some situations. Bader also mentions that community colleges should provide sleeping areas for students that find themselves in that situation. Bader does an astounding job of using literacy devices to exemplify to the reader how homeless students struggle to continue school.

"Homeless on Campus" by Eleanor J. Bader is a report on students who were or are homeless while going to college. The text also includes why the students are homeless, how they are getting out of being homeless, and how colleges aren't recognizing the homeless population that go to the school. Bader wants to advocate for the students that are homeless and are going to college at the same time. She wants to inform her readers that there are students who attend college who are homeless. Bader achieves her purpose by using real-life stories and background information on homelessness on college campuses. According to Bader, oftentimes colleges don’t help students who are homeless because there’s a low awareness of it and they don’t want to serve the poor.

Homelessness is a major problem in the United States. An incredibly vulnerable group is the homeless youth due to their young age and lack of education. According to Edidin, Ganim, Hunter, & Karnik (2012) on any particular night in the United States there are ~2 million homeless youth living on the streets, in shelters, or in other temporary accommodation. Youth become homeless for multiple reasons whether it be because they have aged out of foster care, ran from home, were kicked out of their home, or because they have become homeless along with their family members. Within the umbrella categorization of homeless youth there are high at risk subgroups, common misconceptions, and a serious concern of lack of support and medical services.

With the informing of the nation, next comes the awareness of the government. The most influential Americans, the ones capable of written, federal change, have turned an ear to the cause. Legislation so far has helped greatly. Acts like the Housing and Community Act of 1974, which gave housing opportunities for lower income families, and the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, an organization aimed at helping communities and with which the Education for Homeless Children and Youth program was added to in 1987, have supported the cause to this day. The aforementioned Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program ensured homeless children and youth equal access to an education. Even with this help, many schools found conflict arising in areas such as residency, guardian requirements, incomplete or missing documentation (Dealing with 114). There is

The McKinney-Vento Act not only provides immediate shelter and food to the homeless, but it also guarantees a homeless child’s right to an education. McKinney-Vento assures that homeless students who struggle attending school have access to a proper education and gain other necessary services necessary (Katel). The McKinney-Vento Act recognizes the importance of an education by providing homeless students with basic educational rights, transportation and other basic school necessities. Although there are still major complications in educating homeless students, this act

Do you know the reason why so many college students in the United States are currently homeless? As of the moment there are thousands of college students roaming around the streets, due to not having the necessary resources they need. Now days, it is common for a college student to be left homeless, be evicted, thrown out their homes, or found living in a abandoned buildings which isn't suitable as a living environment. These students don’t have the available funds to be able to pay for somewhere to live in or know when their next meal will be. Every college student in order to be successful needs a safe environment that they can call home and get there regular nutrients.

Homeless teenagers are a vulnerable population that faces many challenges just in terms of daily existence in addition to their overall development in the transitioning to adulthood. Current studies are reported to indicate that the primary cause of homeless among youth is "family dysfunction in the form of parental neglect, physical or sexual abuse, family substance abuse, and family violence." (Runway & Homeless Youth and Relationship Toolkit, 2009, p.1) Homeless youth are generally defined as "an unaccompanied youth ages 12 and older who are without family support and who are living in shelters, on the streets, in cares or vacant buildings and who are 'couch surfing' or living in other unstable circumstances." (Runway & Homeless Youth and Relationship Toolkit, 2009, p.1) Son (2002) writes that it is "...unknown how many homeless youth are out there. Most of them are not in the child welfare, juvenile justice, or mental health systems, making it difficult to accurately gather statistical data." (p.2)

After analyzing the entire Runaway and Homeless Youth Act as a whole, much can be said for and against the economic and political aspects. As to any given argument or subject pros and cons as well as strengths and weaknesses will be weighed out enormously. The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act does abide by guidelines and requirements. All parts of the Act provide all involved with a clear and present purpose. I also believe that these shelters or centers provide the troubled youth with a support system that they could be lacking. Most youth probably don’t realize how widespread homelessness is and it happened to be there only option in certain situations. The homeless youth will not have that feeling of being alone under life

Youth homelessness can be define as young individuals, ranging from age 12 to around 25, who are without any support from their families, and are either living on the streets or at a shelter. There are often “referred to as “unaccompanied” youth.” (National Coalition for Homelessness (NCH), 2007). Unaccompanied youths can be categorized as runaway-homeless youths, throwaways, and independent youths. Runaway- homeless youths are youths that leave home without any parental permission. Youths that leave their homes because parents encourage them to leave are categorize as throwaways. The final classified as independent youths who leave home because of family conflicts or other issues. (Aratani, 2009).

It is difficult for children who are hungry, bullied and living in shelters to focus on the elements of school. (Weber & Lugg, 2008). The McKinney-Vento Act is a fine legislation to assist homeless students in school. I admire the fact that the Act allow students to attend the school of origin or the school of choice, in addition provide an array of services and program. I understand this Act provide referrals to other partnering agencies however, I would like to see the legislators of this Act advocate for more affordable housing for this population by pushing congress to fix the housing and employment crisis which dramatically affecting homeless children’s education. Hence, there are housing program and policies that causes families to separate where fathers cannot reside in the house while receiving housing assistance. The housing problem affects everyone at large, the unemployed, low income and fixed income individuals and families. Housing prices are very high and the employment wages are very low where housing is not affordable. Oftentimes, these group of people make a little over the guidelines and cannot afford to feed their families and pay for housing at the same time (Weber 2014). Henceforth, homeless and poverty cannot be eradicated until inequality, disparity and employment is fixed in this

Walking through a major city or metropolitan area there are a countless number of people who are wearing old and ripped clothing, carrying bags or pushing grocery carts full of junk, looking like they have not bathed in weeks and most of them holding signs begging for change just so they can eat something that day. Over the past eight years the amount of homeless individuals has continuously decreased throughout the country. Homelessness in America is a serious problem, especially with higher rates in unemployment happening. Americans

If you’re making minimum wage, you’re really not making enough anywhere in the country for housing.” According to HUD’s annual Homeless Assessment Report, which was released in late November, homelessness dropped by 4%. The report found that 610,000 were homeless in January 2013, 65% went to shelters, while others were still on the street. Last year’s figure was down 9% from 2007. Some people though did feel the number was far more greater because the report did not include others “doubled up” with friends or relatives, and those shortly living in hotel rooms. The only number that is not dropping is homeless schoolchildren. The U.S. Department of Education saw that the number went up by 10% between 2012-2013 school year. Director of human rights and children’s rights programs for the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, Eric Tars, stated to everyone, “The numbers are still going up. The recession is not over for the vast majority of people living at or near poverty in this country.” More than 25 large and midsize cities officials agreed. They announced that there was a 3% rise in homelessness in 2013, as reported by a U.S. Conference of Mayors survey in December. Cities were expecting homelessness to

There are many programs such as federal programs to prevent youth homelessness. Unaccompanied youth and children accounted for 6.5 percent of the total homeless population (36,907 people). Yong people are the future of our country, and they have the right to have the opportunity for a better life, it is not always their fault to be homeless, so giving them a second chance and supporting them for their future is vital for our communities. Advance Health and Housing Stability for Youth Aging Out of Systems such as Foster Care and Juvenile Justice. Enhanced pardon planning that connects youth to education, housing, health and behavioral health support, income supports, and health insurance coverage will improve re-entry back into the community.

Education is consistently listed as one of the main obstacles for people experiencing homelessness to gain employment, demonstrating need for education-oriented resources within the homeless communities. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless’ 2009 Homeless Employment Report, 80% of respondents stated that they “want to go back to school or to receive additional training to increase their education and skill level to increase their employability” (Acuña & Erlenbusch). In order to address this need, benefits available to residents experiencing homelessness should include an educational component. Should residents experiencing homelessness